VOL. 44, ISSUE 3 FREE
CANNONBEACHGAZETTE.COM
Arts scene
Fire Mountain School annual raffle underway T
Kathleen Stinson For The Gazette
he annual spring raffle at Fire Mountain School is underway. This year’s raffle dinner theme is “Caribbean Night,” scheduled for March 7 at the Old Nehalem Fire Hall, said school board member Amy Ekstrom. “We’re really well known for having an amazing dinner,” Ekstrom said. “Rhythm Culture,” a reggae band from Portland, will perform at the event. Ekstrom said the raffle is a fundraiser to benefit Fire Mountain School, a pre-kindergarten through fifth-grade “private-tuition and community supported alternative school” in Arch Cape. The school has 18 students, with the capacity for 24. “Each raffle ticket includes dinner and dancing for two,” Ekstrom said. Tickets can be purchased on the school’s website at
firemountainschool.org. The school is located in the “old-growth forest of Oswald West State Park,” she said. It creates “community leaders who are connected to our north coast environment and culture …” Ekstrom said Fire Mountain is the “only alternative elementary school in the Arch Cape and Seaside area, and draws from the Montessori, Waldorf and outdoor education” models. The raffle’s first-place winner will receive $3,000 towards an all-expenses-paid trip anywhere in the world, she said. The second-place prize winner will receive a twonight stay at Lodge at Columbia Point in Richland, Washington. Third place will receive one night’s stay at Breitenbush Hot Springs. The event includes a silent auction. “There are only 500 tickets available,” said Ekstrom, Tickets cost three for $100, or $40 each.
Rental task force members selected Kathleen Stinson For The Gazette
T
he Cannon Beach City Council appointed seven members and two alternates to its newly-created short-term rental task force at its Tuesday meeting. Through an ordinance, the city regulates short-term rentals in Cannon Beach. The purpose of the task force is to investigate “short-term rental permitting, violations and impacts of the short-term rental program in Cannon Beach,” as stated in a staff report. The city initially pro-
posed an 11-member task force but ultimately voted to limit the number to seven with two alternates. “It was Council’s opinion that after reviewing the 18 applications, if 11 were selected, the membership would be heavily weighted towards short-tern rental management and Council wanted the task force to be more evenly represented. They agreed to a seven-member, two-altemate membership,” a staff report states. The council selected “Linda Beck-Sweeny, Lisa Fraser, Lisa Kerr, Bob Neroni, Jim Paino, Dwight Thompson & Claudia Toutain-Dorbec as members and Brian Olson & Lynn Sinclair as alternates,” said Jeff Adams, city community development director in an email Wednesday morning.
February 7, 2020
The Cannon Beach Gallery and Arts Association has named Scott C. Johnson its new director. Johnson is pictured at a recent gallery showing. Photos courtesy of Bob Kroll Photography.
Johnson named director of Gallery and arts association Kathleen Stinson For The Gazette
T
he Cannon Beach Gallery and Arts Association recently selected Scott C. Johnson as its new director. After serving as the association’s interim director for the past few months, Johnson said he took over after the former director, Cara Mico, left the position. Johnson has lived in Cannon Beach for 30 years and shown his art at the White Bird Gallery for more than 25 years, he said. “Anybody could own a gallery (years ago) because the cost was so minimal compared to now,” Johnson said. “It’s a little more competitive now to keep a business open.” Many of the artists who founded the “arts colony” in those days have passed on, he said. The term “’colony’ is a historic moniker for what Cannon Beach used to be.” Asked what Cannon Beach was like for artists some time ago, he said: “It really has to do more with the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s, when artists had the freedom to create without a lot of financial restrictions. People could work at being an artist rather than a business person.” The Cannon Beach Arts Association is a communitysupported nonprofit, he said. Lila Wickham is president of the board of directors of the Cannon Beach Gallery and Arts Association. “The Cannon Beach Arts Association was established in 1986 as a 501(c) (3) nonprofit. The gallery is a component of the association,” she said. “The association pays
the rent for the gallery. “We’re the only nonprofit gallery in Cannon Beach,” said Wickham. “The purpose of being a nonprofit is to provide local
she said. “They can submit an application and describe a project, and we provide usually partial funding. The artist produces the work and lectures about their work to
A view of the gallery during a Feb. 2 for the Palette Puddlers exhibit opening.
From left to right are Linda Wyss, Linda Gebhart, Mary Ann Gantenbein and Lila Wickham. and regional artists with a place to display and sell their work. Most private galleries, you have to pay a fee to show your work. “We offer artists grants,”
the community. “The biggest thing is, we can’t sustain ourselves without help from the community,” Wickham said. “We’re a nonprofit that can’t function with-
out donations and sponsorship from the community.” Johnson said his “interest in running the gallery is to create a conducive environment for artists to thrive and be financially supported through sales. “People come enthusiastically to see art in Cannon Beach. Cannon Beach has a reputation for having exceptional artists.” He said artists come to Cannon Beach from California, Portland, Seattle and the East Coast. “They have all brought their own flavor from those areas to their art,” including the “second- and-third generation Oregon coast artists. “Cannon Beach is more like Carmel, more like Taos – small communities where there are a lot of galleries, but you can run out to nature at a moment,” Johnson said. Asked where he sees art in Cannon Beach going in the future, he said, “I see Cannon Beach remaining one of the main pulls for collectors, art enthusiasts and art-related event participants.” Cannon Beach has “at least five different art-directed events throughout the year,” Johnson said. “The Cannon Beach Gallery is an ever-changing space for exhibits. It is an all-inclusive media gallery.” He said the gallery has supported artists-in-residence, including himself once three years ago. The program “puts the artist in contact with the general public and other artists, and helps them formulate a voice for speaking about their process and their visions.”
Loan authorized for upgrading water meter modules T
Kathleen Stinson For The Gazette
he Cannon Beach City Council authorized a loan Tuesday that will pay for upgrading the town’s water meter modules, which will allow users to keep track of their water usage remotely using a smart device, according to the city. “The project will replace end of life manual meter modules and retrofit remaining meters with registers and/or batteries compatible with updated
Advanced Metering Analytics (AMA) Software,” as stated in the staff report. The city is borrowing $624,150 from the Safe Drinking Water Revolving Loan Fund financed by the Oregon Infrastructure Finance Authority, of which it is “eligible for $322,075 of principal forgiveness and an interest rate of 1 percent for the remaining balance over 20 years,” the report states. “There is NO CHARGE to the customer for this change out or use of the software, and when we
begin the change out of the modules, we will assist the residents in getting their ac-
counts set up (it’s optional of course),” said Karen La Bonte, city public works
director. “So many people worry about leaks in their homes when they are on vacation … This software will allow them to monitor their water every minute of the day if they choose!” La Bonte said the city will “change out” 1,750 meter modules. The module “is the piece of the meter that measures the water that flows through the meter.” The new modules will also “improve the man hours associated with reading meters… “The software that comes with the new modules al-
lows (customers) to go online and set up an account that will not only show them their consumption by the hour, but also set up alerts that will text or email them if the system detects water running without a break over a period of time (they set the parameters) which would indicate a possible leak or a running toilet (stuck flapper etc).” She said the city plans to start the project in about four months and completion of the meter module change is estimated to take 45 to 60 days.